Äldre och relationsskapande på Facebook : Hur äldre använder och förhåller sig till Facebook

Abstract IT can facilitate communication among individuals and connect people across geographical distances. On the contrary, citizens of the society who do not use communication technologies to some extent might feel excluded from the information society. As elderly citizens are already in a vulnerable position for the digital divide, communication technology becomes an important tool for interacting with friends and family. The social situation of elderly, 60 years of age and older, is a topic of current interest since they are the fastest growing age group in the world today. Further, social interaction becomes more important among elderly since it has a positive effect on well- being. However, elderly are the least represented age group using social media, which gives a reason to speculate about what affects their outdistancing. To approach this issue we investigated in elderlys’ social background, what motivates them to use technology, attitudes toward technology and whether Facebook meets their social needs. The purpose of this study is to give a deeper understanding of what impact social media has on how elderly build relationships. We have approached this issue by using a qualitative study where we examined how nine elderly between the age of 65-79, in Umeå use Facebook to maintain or establish relations with their surroundings. Our findings suggest that it is most often family members who motivate elderly to join Facebook to enable social interaction online. Another factor that affects elderlys’ relationships is the fact that they feel insecure online, because of a lack of knowledge on the usage of Facebook features. Also, there is an awareness among elderly that social media is characterized by transparency, where information becomes more vulnerable for exploitation. Hence, elderly prefer not to share information on social media. Facebook is thereby mainly used as a complementary mean for maintaining and re-connecting relations with family and friends. Finally, our study suggests that social media also can conduce inclusion in society by serving as a link between working life and retirement